Readers write: March 19

Save tax credit for zero-emission EVs

Georgia lawmakers are short-sighted in their drive to eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) tax credit. The tax credit is an incentive for commuters to purchase EVs. More EVs on Georgia roads benefits our economy and our health, particularly our children’s health. Emissions from the tailpipes of cars and trucks are blamed for 53,000 premature deaths per year.

Even though EVs produce zero harmful tailpipe emissions, producing the electricity used to charge an EV does release emissions. However, EVs are cleaner than the conventional gasoline vehicle. Cars and trucks release emissions at ground level where people live, work and play, putting people closer to the pollution source. The Health Effects Institute found that traffic-generated pollution causes asthma attacks in children and may cause the onset of asthma, premature death, impaired lung function and cardiovascular disease.

In Georgia, one in 12 children suffers from asthma. In 2010, the cost of asthma-related hospitalizations for children amounted to over $27 million. We should be concerned about the effects of traffic-generated pollution on the health of our children. I urge our lawmakers to examine the whole picture and not just the immediate $13.6 million tax credit cost to the state.

SUSAN BERRYMAN-RODRIQUEZ, MOTHERS & OTHERS FOR CLEAN AIR

Don’t rely on fines to fund local police

I was surprised to learn local police departments are allowed to generate up to 40 percent of their budget from speeding tickets (“Bill tightens limit on speed trap funds,” News, March 13). This creates a perverse need to find somebody to fine every month just to keep the doors open. Every police department swears it writes tickets just for the sake of safety, but safety is not the first thing on their minds if payroll depends on speed trap revenue.